


The Blind One

by StormsThing1



Series: Adventures of Maude and Kenna [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Blood, Kidnapping, McKenzie is Kenna, demon rituals, injuries, killing the people doing demonic rituals, sad babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 03:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13227384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormsThing1/pseuds/StormsThing1
Summary: "You may want to look away," Said the man, the demon.But no one thought to cover the blind girl's eyes.Swirling, swirling blue flames attacked her.





	The Blind One

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fun one to write! Just a note ahead of time - McKenzie is Kenna! Her name changed as she got older because Reasons.

Three girls walked down the side of a small country road. They were all identical, the small town's resident triplets. They weren't paying very much attention to where they were going, as hardly any cars drove down that road.

It was a sunny day in mid-October, the time when it just started to cool down in the rural Texas town the lived in. the crops this year had been planted later than usual, it had been a longer winter than normal the year before, the almost freezing weather lasting almost all the way through February, so the cotton fields on either side of the road were still filled with fluffy white cotton bolls.

The girls were wearing matching overalls, their mom thought it was cute, with undershirts in different colors. The girl on the right wore a red and white striped shirt, in the middle wore solid blue, and on the left wore pine green.

They didn't care about a thing, taking a long walk in the country side and joking around the whole way.

“No! Shut up!” the one on the farthest right, her name Michala, giggled, and shoved the one on the furthest left off the side of the road and into the field of cotton.

“Mickey!” Michelle spluttered, climbing back out of the ditch and onto the road. She had small puffs of white clinging to her overalls, and mixed into her long hair. “Look now I'm all dirty!”

“What?” the girl in the middle giggled. She was the black sheep of her sisters, completely blind since birth, she was holding a cane at her side and looking at her sisters.

“She pushed me in the cotton and now I've got cotton all tangled in my hair, feel, it's sticky.” Michelle held out a strip of her hair for McKenzie to run her hands across.

“Oh, ew.” McKenzie laughed and pulled out a chunk of cotton, rubbing it between her fingers.

“Wait can I feel?” Michala asked, walking towards Mich as well.

“Sure!” Michelle answered, and pushed Michala into the cotton patch as well. She squeaked rather loudly, and McKenzie had to stop walking because she was laughing so hard.

“Come on guys, Mom will be mad at us if we're late to dinner again.” McKenzie said, recovering from the fun.

“Wait is it really that late?” Michelle asked, helping Mickey out of the greenery.

“I don't know.” McKenzie shrugged.

“Doesn't matter, race you there!” Michala shrieked and took off in a sprint, leaving Mich and McKenzie just standing there. Then Mich laughed and joined in, and McKenzie took off after the sound of their footsteps.

The ground under McKenzie's feet changed from cement to gravel and she began banking to the right when she ran into someone. Her momentum pushed both of them down, and she rolled across the gravel. There was a sharp crack as her cane broke.

“Ow,” she whined, sitting up. She could feel the sharp sting of gravel all over her body, especially her knees and elbows, and there was a good sized raspberry on her cheek too. “Sorry,” she grumbled, looking back towards the man she had plowed into, even though she couldn't see anything.

“McKenzie!” Mich and Mickey called in unison, running back to help their sister.

“Are you okay?” Mich asked, while Mickey helped pull McKenzie to her feet, and helped brush bits of dirt and gravel off her.

“Mom's not gonna like that you got hurt.” Mickey commented, “'Be more careful'.” she imitated their mother in a nasally voice that made McKenzie laugh.

“I'm very sorry Miss.” the man that McKenzie had run into said, his voice twinging with an accent that wasn't familiar. Maybe it was northern, McKenzie thought. “I wasn't watching where I was going. Those look like some nasty scrapes.” he sounded really tall.

“I'm fine.” McKenzie said, fiercely independent. “Sorry for running into you, Sir.” she began to crouch to try and find her cane again, when the man spoke again, and her Momma always taught her that you stand up and look towards and adult when they're talking to you.

“Oh, you can just call me Mr. John.” the man laughed. “Are you sure you're okay? That sounded like a pretty hard fall.” he patted McKenzie on the head and her mood instantly soured.

“I'm fine.” McKenzie repeated stepping back some, and Mickey grabbed her by the hand.

“I have a first aid kit in my car.” the man offered, “We could clean up your scrapes, there.”

The three little girls, all only six, though old for six, didn't like that.

“Our house is just around the corner.” Mich lied. “We'll wait for Mommy, thanks.” she grabbed her sister's other side and the three began to back away from the man.

“Well hey, then at least let me drive you back home. Your knee is starting to bleed pretty good, Missy.” McKenzie frowned at the nickname, the pout of a little kid who was trying not to cry.

“No thanks.” McKenzie said. “I can walk.”

“No, I insist.” a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, and she began to scream. “Why don't you ladies get in my car?”

“No! I don't know you, don't touch me!” Mich and Mickey joined in, but there was no signs of life for miles around.

Then McKenzie's feet weren't on the ground any more and she kicked and kicked, and she heard some rustling from the surrounding struggling and her sisters were also screaming to be put down and she was put in something, probably a car, and someone put a sticker on her arm and she fell asleep.

When she woke up, it smelled kinda like Mom's herbal teas, and smoke. There was tough plastic wrapped around her wrists, and the floor was cold and sticky. She couldn't hear her sisters any where, usually they were right there, and they're both so loud in their sleep.

She began crying like a baby, she always was the more sensitive one in their family. Her nose began to fill with mucus, making it hard to breathe, and she began to wheeze slightly.

Something rustled next to her, and McKenzie began to scoot away as best she could until she heard a little voice.

“Shush Kenny, it's okay.” it was Mich, Mickey's signature line was telling McKenzie to shut up, and she sounded like she was still half asleep from whatever that sticker had been.

“No it's not.” McKenzie whined, and that got Mich to wake up fully. McKenzie could tell because she heard a small scream and fast breathing.

“Where are we?” Mich asked.

“I don't know.” McKenzie sniffled, “The ground is sticky.”

“Um, okay,” Mich noted, “Okay okay,” her voice rose the way it always did when she got nervous. “It looks like, it looks kinda like a storm cellar?” she said. “Yeah, I think we're under ground. There's lots of shelves with stuff.”

“Oh okay.” McKenzie said. “Is there a door?”

“Up the stairs I think.” Mich said. “But my feet are zip-tied, are yours?”

“I guess.” McKenzie said. “Is Mickey here too?”

“Yeah, she's just a little bit to the side from here.” Mich said. “She's still asleep, but you know her. She's lazy.”

“I don't think this is lazy asleep.” McKenzie said.

“Well, we're awake and she isn't bigger or smaller than us, so she should wake up soon too.” Mich reasoned. “Yeah, because isn't that what Mom always says? Medicine wears off on bigger people sooner, which is why we take less medicine than Mom and Dad.”

“Yeah, okay.” McKenzie decided to just agree. Mich inch wormed until she was sitting next to McKenzie.

“Don't worry, we'll be just fine!” Mich assured. Her voice was shaking. “Mom and Dad will notice we're gone and call the police! They'll be here any minute now, and they'll beat up the bad guys and we'll be just fine!”

“How can you say that?” McKenzie asked.

“You're a downer.” Mich said. “It's because I'm the older sister. So I'll take care of both of us!”

“But they don't even know where we are.” McKenzie said. “What types of things are on the shelves?”

“Um, um, candles and chalk and stuff.”

“Okay.” Both McKenzie and Mich were silent, until a groaning snapped them out of it.

“Mickey's awake.” McKenzie said, and felt Mich pull away from her to see to their sister.

“Are you okay?” Mich asked.

“My head hurts, and I want water.” Mickey said. “Where are we?” she began to panic as she saw their surroundings.

“I don't know. We think it's someone's storm shelter.” McKenzie answered, worriedly wringing her hands.

“Some storm shelter.” Mickey said.

“I know,” Mich agreed, both girls looking at thinks McKenzie couldn't see. But all of them heard the creak of an old door opening, and the sound of heavily booted footsteps creeping down the old wooden stairs. The triplets all huddled together.

“Damn it.” a man's voice grumbled, it was the same man from before. “Jay, the sleeping beauties woke up.” he shouted back up the stairs.

“You kidding me, Day?” hurried footsteps romped down the stairs. “Well this is great. May, you said you hit them with enough tranquilizer to keep 'em out 'till nightfall!”

“I did! Are they really awake? They shouldn't be.” a masculine woman's voice shouted back. High-heeled shoes clomped down the stairs. There was a silent moment. “Huh. I guess I miscalculated. I was eyeballing it, you know?”

“May, you're fired.” Jay said.

“What?” the woman sounded shocked. “Jay, that's just not fair. The boss said it was extremely important that these little girls get here alive, and I had to eyeball their weights from fifty yards away. Of course I erred on the side of caution, but I'd say I did pretty darn well.”

“And what if these had been three hundred pound boxers that had woken up?” Jay asked.

“Then I would have been far less cautious.” said May. “It is so easy to kill little kids, look at 'em, I bet they hardly weight one hundred pounds combined.”

“It doesn't matter. You claim to be a professional. After this mistake, you're off. No complaints.”

“Yes sir.” the woman said, sounding angry. “Do you want me to knock them out again?”

“That will hardly be necessary. Go back upstairs.”

She loudly clumped away. The men moved from being on the stairs to walking on the cement floor, McKenzie could hear the footsteps, feel the vibrations creeping ever closer.

“Get back.” Michala said. “I'll beat you up.”

“You know, little missy,” the voice was much closer than McKenzie expected, and sounded so mean it could curdle milk. “I don't think you could, even if you weren't all tied up.” there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

“Mickey!” Mich yelled, and she too got slapped.

“Okay, ladies, here are the ground rules from now on out. You will not speak, to anyone. You will not look at anything. You will not hear anything. And most importantly, you are not going anywhere. Or else.” the sound of a loading gun, a faint whiff of something bitter. “Comprenden?”

“We hear you.” Mickey said, and got smacked again. “Loud and clear, sir.” again.

“Mickey, stop goading him.” Mich commanded.

“Yeah, _Mickey,_ stop goading him.” the man said, and slapped someone again, Mich or Mickey, McKenzie couldn't tell. Something cool pressed on McKenzie temple. “Anymore sounds out of you, and the runt gets it.”

Pure silence, besides McKenzie's terrified, rugged breathing.

“Perfect.” the man sounded like he was smiling. “Come along ladies, let's go upstairs.”

Day, the man who had been waiting on the stairs, began walking and Mich and Mickey followed behind him. McKenzie stood still until she was pushed in a direction. She began shuffling, and tripped over the bottom step.

“What are you, stupid?” Jay asked, pushing McKenzie with his foot.

“Blind.” she whispered, and began to climb up the stairs on all fours. Once she got to the top she stood up and waited to be pushed in the next direction.

The man grabbed her by the shoulder and began maneuvering her through a series of halls and doorways. It hurt, how hard he was holding her, she expected there to be bruises where his fingernails touched her skin later.

They made it to their destination, eventually. The building they were in was rather large. The room they were in was cold and damp, felt like there were no windows at all. The ground was cold when McKenzie was pushed the the center and tripped.

Mich and Mickey soon joined her on the ground, all of them sitting back to back and facing different directions. They were all crying, but silent.

This room was not empty,but rather it was teeming with life, many people running around to get things ready for a ceremony. Behind their backs, all three girls were holding hands.

Someone clapped their hands very loudly, somewhere behind McKenzie. The room descended into silence, the random whispers being silenced by a stern _shush_. “Let the ceremony commence.” the voice said, and McKenzie could not tell whether it belonged to a boy or a girl.

The same person began chanting in some language, their voice echoing and reverberating in the room until it sounded like it surrounded McKenzie and there was nothing else in the room with her. It hurt, it confused her, she wanted it to stop.

Something grabbed her, and bit her in the stomach, a big searing slash that had her doubling over in tears. She pressed her hands to the wound, and felt warm liquid oozing out of it. She could hear her sisters crying too, though less of pain and more of fear.

“Astrum splendidum, te invoco...” the voice began to chant and it was so loud, it was unbearable, and she was crying.

But then everything stopped. There was a presence, hovering just above McKenzie's head.

Then a man started talking, a young man with a big scary voice that mixed with all the other sounds in the room, and his voice itself was shacking so hard McKenzie couldn't hear anything but noise. His voice sounded angry, low and growling.

Then a voice cut clear through the mess of sound.

“You may want to look away.”

Mich and Mickey behind her did just that, turning into each other and shoving their faces in each other's shoulders sobbing in fear and relief. They held up their hands to shield any light, anything at all.

But no one thought to cover blind McKenzie's eyes.

Flames, sparked into existence and began to cover the room. McKenzie watched them intently, small flecks of blue dancing before her eyes. It was beautiful, the little orbs. Her crying began to slow as she watched them dance and twirl around, a mesmerizing sight for the blind girl. They landed on her wrists, and melted away the bonds there.

Then the flames, the beautiful blue flames, turned evil, and all throughout the room people began screaming, until those shouts died in gruesome gurgles. The room was awash in colors, masses of light screaming until they were harshly put out by the flames. McKenzie tried to look away, but it was too late.

The lights attacked her eyes. The lights Attacked her Eyes, and it hurt. It Hurt it Hurt it HURT. She screamed and looked down, squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as they would go, looked away but there was nowhere to look away to, the flames pierced behind her eyelids hurting hurting hurting. She fell down, laying on top of her sisters, screaming and wailing even as the cries around the room died out.

She could see the man, the demon that had been summoned, dancing on a bed of blue flames. His body was black, pure, pure black, with criss-crossing golden lines creating a brick pattern. He was smiling, a big happy, evil smile, and his eyes were wide and filled with evil glee. Then he spun in a circle, the fire making almost a tornado around him, and he was gone.

Someone began pounding on the door, McKenzie could barely hear it over the sounds of her screaming. Her sisters were sitting on either side of her now, both of them crying and trying to comfort her. She had squeezed her eyes shut tight, they hurt so so much, trying to claw them out to make the pain stop.

“Police!” shouted a voice on the other side of the door, banging on it furiously.

“Come in please!” Mich screamed, and the door was broken down.

McKenzie managed to pry her eyes open long enough to see a mass of colors swarm into the room. Soft hands grabbed her arms, and pulled them away, ran along her body to check for injuries. She was lifted up and put onto a stretcher, where she curled up.

After that she didn't remember anything, not until she woke up in the hospital.

She was in a private room with her sisters, their parents hovering nervously. She felt sleepy and warm, because of pain medicine, and she had thick gauze wrapped around her eyes. There was something on the gauze that made it cool, a blessing on her burnt eyes.

Her parents, never one to baby their children, or sugar coat anything, told McKenzie exactly what happened.

They got kidnapped, McKenzie knew that much, and then used for a demon summoning ceremony. They slashed all three girls in one go for the summoning, and McKenzie got the worst of it, being in the middle. All three of the little girls had been slashed at once, so that now when they stood next to each other their scars would make a smiley face. She lost a lot of blood but it was quickly recovered by donations and fluids.

The police were tipped off by an anonymous and kind of insane sounding caller. The caller claimed he had killed the kidnappers himself, and when police tried to use his phone to determine his location, it came up as nonexistant.

True to what the caller said, all the kidnappers were dead when the police arrived. McKenzie was screaming and trying to claw her eyes out, while Mich and Michala panicked. They were rushed to the hospital and their parents called, thanks to the numbers on the dog tags the little girl's wore at all times.

“Momma, what about my eyes?” McKenzie asked. “They still hurt so so much. They were on fire, Momma. They were on fire.” she reached a hand to feel the gauze, flinching at the added pressure on her eyes.

“Your eyes...” Patricia began. “The doctors don't know what happened to your eyes, Baby. They said your injuries looked like magical burns, worse than anything they've ever seen before. They don't know what to do, I'm sorry.”

“The doctors don't know?” McKenzie asked. She would have begun to cry, but her eyes hurt too much.

“But they're transferring you.” Joshua said, patting her shoulder. “To a bigger hospital. Up near Dallas. The doctors there will know what to do. Right now they're just waiting until you and your sisters are okay to travel.”

“Okay.” McKenzie decided. “I want to go back to sleep now, is that okay? Tell me when Mich and Mickey wake up.”

“Of course baby.” Patricia cooed and held her hand. McKenzie fell asleep before her mother was done talking.

The next time she woke up was in the middle of the night, and she could hear her daddy snoring in the corner. Mich and Mickey were awake though. They were sitting next to each other on top of McKenzie's bed, their legs brushing up against her sides, talking in soft, gentle whispers.

“I'm awake.” she whispered, cutting into the middle of whatever they were saying.

“Kenzie!” they both said at the same time. “You're okay.” Mich said and hugged her, Mickey soon joining in.

“Are you okay?” Mickey asked.

“My eyes hurt really bad,” said McKenzie. “And my stomach too, but mainly my eyes. Also, I don't like the bandages. They feel cool, but they're annoying.”

“Well, I listened in on the doctors talking.” Mickey began. “And they said that tomorrow they;re going to release me and Mich from the hospital.”

“That's great.” McKenzie said, though a little unenthusiastically.

“But that's not all!” Mickey continued. “They're going to transfer you to some hospital in Dallas. And, since you're not being released, you get to ride in an ambulance. An ambulance! How cool is that!”

“All the way to Dallas?” McKenzie grumbled. “That's so boring. And uncomfortable.”

“Ex _cuse_ you, it's an ambulance! That makes it instantly like ten times cooler.” Mickey argued.

“Don't worry, Mama left to get your tablet, and some clean clothes.” Mich promised, “So it won't be that boring. And maybe one of us will get to come with you? I know Mama is riding with you.”

“I hope you can.” McKenzie said.

“I hope so too.” Mich said.

“Me too.” Mickey agreed.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, then Daddy snored really loud again.

“Good night.” Mich said, and cuddled into the bed, clearly meaning to stay there all night.

“Good night.” Mickey said.

“ 'night.” McKenzie whispered, already almost asleep. A man in golden and black danced in her dreams, accompanied by swirling blue fire. She did not sleep very well.

She was woken at the butt crack of dawn by people talking right next to her bed. More specifically, they were talking directly to her. Did they not realize she had been asleep, and would really rather stay asleep.

“Okay honey, are you ready to go in the ambulance?” the woman, a kind sounding nurse, asked.

“I want breakfast.” said McKenzie. “And I wanna wear my clothes.”

“Okay Dear.” the nurse's voice was trying too hard to be sweet, it made McKenzie feel a little sick. “I'll go get you some toast. Anything else you want for breakfast?”

“Sweet milk.” she said. “Like the kind with sugar and cinnamon in it. And yogurt. Do you have the kind with candy mixed in?”

“We can certainly do sweet milk and yogurt, but no candy, sorry honey. You're tummy's still healing.”

“Okay. Thank you.” McKenzie's respect for the women plummeted. She hated being spoken down to. The door opened and shut.

“Good morning, Baby.” said Mommy, putting her hand on McKenzie's shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“My eyes feel hot,” said McKenzie. “I wanna take the bandage off. It rubs my eyes and it _hurts_ Mommy.”

“I'm sorry, Baby.” Mommy crooned, rubbing McKenzie's forehead and temples. “How's your stomach feel?”

“It doesn't hurt at all. I don't know what that lady was talking about.” she said.

“That's good.” Mommy stroked McKenzie's hair, her hand warm and smelling of cinnamon. “Let's get you dressed, okay? I brought you some pajamas.”

“Which pajamas?” McKenzie asked.

“The kind that are so light that it feels like you're wearing air.” Mommy blew a puff of air in McKenzie's face and she burst into giggles.

“No fair.” Mickey pouted from the other side of the room. “I wanna wear pajamas all day!”

“You can when it's you taking an ambulance ride to a hospital in Dallas.” Mommy said, her voice kind yet harsh. Mickey only grumbled in response, and Mich began lauging.

Daddy laughed and grabbed the two other little girls by the hands, walking them away to the cafeteria.

Mommy helped McKenzie get dressed in her pajamas, she would have insisted on doing it herself but her arms felt like noodles. It was really comfy, black and white, Mommy said, though that didn't really mean much to McKenzie. Her favorite part of the jammies was the heart made out of little reflective stickers on the sleeve, she played with that little design so much it was starting to peel away.

A soft knock rang from the other side of the door. “Come in!” McKenzie shouted.

“I brought you your sweet milk and yogurt Hun!” the bubbly nurse said, pushing her way into the room. “Now, you can't keep the ambulance waiting for long, so you can eat there.”

“Wow.” McKenzie drawled. “I get to wear my jammies all day and I get to eat in the car! It's my lucky day!”

The nurse was clearly uncomfortable with that statement.

“Let's make the best of it okay? We're off!” Mommy cheered, and the nurse took the breaks off McKenzie's bed.

“Mommy, who's gonna be riding with me?”

“Only me baby, sorry. Don't worry, I brought a vidpad full of your favorite shows, it'll go by in a jiff!” Mommy patted her hand. The hospital wasn't very crowded or loud, even though it was the largest hospital for miles around. That was Mommy's requirement for moving out to the countryside, a good hospital. It really paid off this time.

“Even faster because you'll be getting your next dose of painkillers, dear.” the nurse said.

“No,” McKenzie whined, “those make me feel like rubber.”

“Kenzie, would you rather rubber or on fire.” Mommy asked, her stern voice making it not a question.

“Fire.” she argued. “I can't think when I'm rubber.”

“Of course, you stubborn baby.”

Then there was a whoosh of mechanical doors, and Kenzie was surrounded by balmy air, even though it should be cool.

“Mommy, what happened? It was cool yesterday?” she asked.

“We had a warm front roll in over night.” Mommy said, rubbing Kenzie's hand. “Sorry, it might still be warm over Halloween.”

“Darn,” Kenzie muttered.

The ambulance itself was cramped, and Kenzie could hear sounds echoing from all around her, stuck in the metal cage. Mommy passed her some headphones though, so it wasn't too bad. She had just started a new audiobook series, and it came with a special read-along braille book. She got it for her last birthday and she couldn't be happier - physical, braille books are where the cool information is.

The nurse on the ambulance with Kenzie, a different nurse than the one in the hospital, adjusted the IV-sticker in Kenzie's arm, and she began to feel drowsy. She was a little angry, because she was in the middle of a good part of the book, but soon she didn't care as much as her fingers drifted off the page and Mommy paused the recording.

She woke up again as the ambulance jerked to a stop in front of the new hospital. It was very different outside-the air was cooler, and smelled heavier. There was a lot of noise to, both general traffic noise and hospital noise.

She was taken through the hospital, through winding hallways that spun her mind around and disoriented her, and they took two different elevator rides.

“Mommy, I don't like this hospital.” she admitted, absentmindedly rubbing at the bandages on her face. “It's like a maze. I have no clue where I am.”

“We can go for a walk another time.” Mommy said, and Kenzie was happy. She loved taking walks.

Eventually Kenzie began to get restless, and while she wanted to stop to touch and read every room plate, her mom assured her that would only make it take longer and convinced her to wait until they got to the right part of the hospital.

It was like a dream come true when Mommy finally did say, “Okay Kenny, try it out. It's got some big words though.”

Kenzie ran her hands on the wall until she found the plate. “Pediatric... Biomagical... Malafflictions.”

“Good job.” Mommy said, and rubbed Kenzie's shoulders.

Inside it was a long hallway, and Kenzie got her own room at the very end of the hall. She had to change beds, and they let her walk for it, even though she was a little wobbly. Her new bed was much comfier, with fuzzy sheets and a fluffy pillow.

“When will the others get here?” Kenzie asked after the nurse left.

“In a couple hours. They stopped to pack some bags.”

“Okay.”

Almost instantly someone knocked at the door, and Mommy told them to come in. It was a doctor, he sounded like an old man, but really nice. Like a Santa in the mall or on the tele. The doctor laughed when she said that out loud.

“I'm gonna take this bandage off your eyes, okay hun?” he asked.

“Yes please.” Kenzie said. “It really hurts.”

The pressure around her eyes was removed, and she was so thankful. Her eyes still felt like they were on fire, but at least they could breathe.

“Can you open your eyes dear?” the doctor asked, and Kenzie obliged. “Great. Now, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Mommy quickly corrected the man, telling him that Kenzie was blind, but she was too busy staring at the man to notice the well rehearsed lines, the sincere and abashed apology. She tilted her head and squinted, rubbing at her eyes and wincing when that made them hurt more.

“Are you okay? Having problems with your vi- your eyes?”

There was... something in front of Kenzie, and logically she new it could only be the doctor. It looked... like the blanket she was sitting on. Soft. Fuzzy. But there was a certain texture to it, like a taste on the back of her tongue that she was only able to place as concern.

“Baby? You're awful quiet all of a sudden?” Mommy asked, and Kenna jerked her head to look at Mommy.

Mommy was.. beautiful, absolutely beautiful! She looked like home, the sweet cinnamon smell of Mommy's signature cookies, the smell and texture of the special fabric softener she used for Kenzie's blankets.

“Mommy, you're so pretty.” Kenzie said, and she began crying a little bit. She tried to wipe her eyes but that made them hurt more so she just caught her tears.

“What?” Mommy asked, very quietly, and the doctor sat back in silence. His texture changed to one of amazement and joy.

“You're so pretty.” Kenzie said again, and this time Mommy hugged her.

“What? How could-? What?” Mommy repeated, and turned to look at the doctor.

“It's probably a side effect of the magic. Honestly, it's the first time I've seen anything like this.” he moved closer to Kenzie and snapped to get her attention. “Could you tell me what your mommy looks like?”

“Like- like cinnamon!” was Kenzie's first response, and the doctor wasn't expecting that at all. “And like the special laundry detergent, and the feel of sunlight and home.”

Even Kenzie's mother knew that wasn't a normal response. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the doctor intervened. “And what do I look like?”

“Like the blanket.” Kenzie said, holding up the blanket to prove her point, rubbing it between her fingers. “And like... how corn sounds when wind blows through the fields.”

The doctor nodded and hummed. “I think I have an idea... give me a moment.” there was a burst of air as the door opened and shut. Kenzie turned back to stare at Mommy. She was so pretty.

The doctor knocked again, but the door was open before Mommy told him to come in.

“Take this.” the doctor said, and purposefully hushed Mommy when she tried to tell Kenzie what or where the doctor was holding.

She spun around until she saw the walking blanket again, and hesitantly held out her hand, brushing at the blanket and then pawing at the air until she found what he was holding.

“A tablet?” Kenzie asked, turning the cool metal over in her hands.

“Yes, can you see what's on the tablet?”

“No, I'm blind.” she said.

“What about now?” the doctor leaned over Kenzie and pressed a button on the pad.

The pad exploded into colors, and swirling shapes. “Whoa,” Kenzie whispered, tracing one line of something that looked like the sting of salt water.

The doctor hummed and Kenzie heard the click of a pen.

“So, McKenzie, you couldn't see the pad when I held it out to you?”

“No,”

“And you couldn't see what was on the pad before?”

“No? I'm blind.”

“But you can see me and your Mommy, right?”

Kenzie frowned. “That's kinda a loaded question, mister. I don't know what it's like to see something.”

“But you said you knew what me and your mommy look like?” the doctor was scribbling away, Kenzie loved the sound of a pen scraping against paper.

“Yes.”

“And you didn't see that way before.” the doctor asked.

“I don't know if it was seeing.”Kenzie responded, and this time Mommy poked her. “But yes, it was brand new.”

“So you say I looked like a texture and your mom looks like a bunch of smells.”

“Yes sir.”

“And what does that pad look like?” he asked, his texture was patient.

Kenzie was silent a moment, studying the swirling colors. “This one looks like salt water when it gets in your eyes.”

“And what do you perceive these colors and such with?” the doctor said, and Kenzie knew he was paying more attention to his notes than her.

“With my eyes.” she answered immediately.

“Well,” began the doctor. “I think I know what it is, though I don't know how it happened.” the doctor paused a moment to make another note. “I believe you have developed the Sight.”

“Is that possible?” Mommy asked, and the smells were tainted with worry and concern.

“Well,” the doctor took a deep breath. “I've never seen it before, but obviously this happened somehow.”

There was a long pause in the conversation. No one knew what to say.

“I'm just special.” Kenzie said, laughing under her breath.

“Just special.” Mommy agreed.

The doctor stood up, groaning as he did. “I'm going to do some research and put some tests together, if you need anything don't hesitate to press that button right there.” he tapped something to the right of Kenzie's head, and she reached out to feel it.

“Do you want food, or do you want to go for a walk?” Mommy asked as soon as the door was shut.

“Can we walk to food?” Kenzie asked hopefully. “Am I allowed to leave?”

“I'm sure you are, Honey. Here, I brought you slippers.” she put the shoes in Kenzie's lap, soft fuzzy ones that lit up with every step she took.

Kenzie quickly slid on the slippers, and stood up. She reached back to the bed to grab her stick before she realized it wasn't there. “Um, Mommy? I don't have my stick. I think it broke, before.”

“I know.” Mommy said. “Good thing I got you your spare.”

“Yay!” Kenzie held out grabby hands, quickly unfolding her stick to its full length. She grabbed Mommy's hand, and the two were off.

The hospital was really cold on the inside, Mommy said it was to make people more comfortable as you can put on more blankets, but you can only take so many layers off. When Kenzie said that wasn't a good enough reason Mommy just laughed.

Several times Mommy had to keep Kenzie from just wandering off. There were so many people, so many colors everywhere. She just wanted to look at them all, on person in particular who looked like the sun in the early evening. Each time Mommy would have to yank Kenzie back by her arm, to keep her from running into people.

“Mommy, I saw them though.” Kenzie would argue each time. “I wasn't going to hit them.”

“Yes you were.” Mommy said, and her voice was stern, but she smelled proud and happy.

The cafeteria was a big, and the air was warmer. They ordered their food off the menu, and the worker said someone would bring them their food shortly. It was almost like a sit down restaurant, except the food was really bland.

“So, what do you think we should send to your Daddy and the others, Baby-Butt?” Mommy asked, and Kenzie could hear the sound of Mommy's phone unlocking.

“Nothing. I wanna surprise them.” Kenzie giggled.

“Surprise them it is.” Mommy said, and she clicked a few buttons.

A few hours later found them in the hospital room again, and this time the knock on the door wasn't the doctor, but her dad and sisters.

“Come in,” Mommy called softly, and winked at Kenzie, who giggled.

The girls were the first ones to charge into the room. They jumped on Kenzie's bed, shouting at her about how much they missed her, even though it was only for a little bit, and that they'd bought her presents on the way.

Kenzie reached out and touched the one closest to her, long hair brushing her finger tips. It was Mich.

She was so pretty, everyone was, Kenzie was realizing. Mich looked like rain, not the thunderstorms that had the family sitting in the family room, huddled up near the TV with their tennis shoes on, but the comforting drizzle that signaled cooler weather was coming.

Mickey was next, sitting slightly closer to the edge of the bed. She looked like music, the really loud kind, the kind that gave Kenzie headaches if it was played to loud. But Mickey didn't give hear a headache, she made her exited, pumped her up.

“McKenzie?” Daddy asked after a second of silence, and she jerked around to look at him too. He looked like the video games that he would play while the girls watched, heavily dependent on the visual so Kenzie rarely had a clue what was going on, but comforting and nostalgic all the same.

“Are you okay?” Mich asked, and the rain picked up in pace, agitated.

“I'm great.” Kenzie whispered.

“Your eyes are a different color!” Mickey interrupted, crowding Kenzie. Now the music was giving her a headache.

“What? No!” Mich argued, and Mommy and Daddy all leaned in to look at Kenzie's face better.

“You're right.” Mommy muttered.

“Yeah, see? Now her eyes are really really light blue.” Mickey was proud of herself for seeing that, chords of pride mixing into her chaotic song.

“Back up!” Kenzie shouted suddenly, squeezing her eyes shut tight. “You're giving me a headache!”

“You okay, Honey?” Mommy asked. “Your eyes hurt?”

Kenzie tried covering her eyes with her hands, but that reminded her how they still felt like they were on fire. She nodded furiously. “I'm sorry.” she whispered.

“Don't be sorry.” Daddy patted her shoulder.

“We're sorry we jumped you.” Mickey said, and Mich's rain surged in agreeance.

“Don't be.” Kenzie said. “I would have too.” she looked at her sisters. They looked so good together, the rain, the music, they just fit together. Kenzie held up a hand in front of her face. She couldn't see anything.

“You're pretty.” she said eventually, looking from her sisters to her parents. “All of you.”

“What?” Mich and Mickey asked at the same time.

“Kenzie, quick, how many fingers am I holding up?” Mickey asked, presumably holding her hands in front of Kenzie's face.

“Between zero and ten.” Kenzie laughed. “Not that kinda seeing. You're music, and Mich is rain, and Daddy's video games, and Mommy's smells.”

“Our running theory,” Mommy started, and Kenzie loved the big sciency words. “is that her eyes were exposed to high amounts of magical energy, and just kinda soaked it up. And now she has the Sight, but whereas the majority of people see colors, she doesn't know what colors look like. So she replaces with her other senses.”

“Because I'm special.” Kenzie smiled.

“My special girl.” Daddy rubbed her head, and her spiral curls flew all over the place.

Kenzie wound up staying in that hospital for months. They ran various tests on her eyes, but couldn't find the cause of her sudden Sight. Since it didn't seem detrimental to her health, they just gave her medicine for the pain in her eyes, which never went away, and told her to come back if anything bad happened.

Everyone was happy that Kenzie got to go home, except Kenzie herself. She had been keeping secrets from the doctors, didn't know how to broach the subject, even though Mommy and Daddy would give her a thorough tongue lashing if they ever found out.

(That's why they'll never find out.)

It hurt her, Seeing things. Not just how her eyes constantly felt like they were on fire, and she was told just to deal with it, given medicine that makes her too sleepy to think properly. All the colors, all the feelings of the people around her, it was too much. She was constantly suffering an overload, getting way more information than her brain was supposed to. It made her feel like her head was breaking, splitting open, gave her killer headaches.

But worse than that, so much worse than that, were the monsters.

It was only her right eye, that she Saw the monsters with. They hurt her, her brain and her body, shoving too much information into her at once. When she saw a monster, she instinctively knew who it was, a detailed idea of what they looked like, all in addition to their emotions. And oh, their emotions were always so strong! It hurt, it hurt, it split her head open and left her thoughts scrambled for minutes until she could recollect herself.

The doctors said it was normal, for her to be a bit overwhelmed. She had lived for the first six or so years of her life completely blind.

Kenzie decided the doctors were right. After all, they're the doctors. They know what they're talking about.

That's what she told Mommy and Daddy, when they asked why she was so paranoid about making her hair cover her right eye. To keep her from seeing too much, it helps with being overwhelmed. And it did, she wasn't lying. Just omitting the monsters.

Mommy took her to a salon, and got her hair cut in a way that it naturally covered her eye. It was perfect.

They moved, not too long after Kenzie was discharged. Closer to Dallas, but still in the countryside. No one felt safe in their old home, their old town any more. No one was sad to see the place go.

And Kenzie was hesitantly happy on her first day in her new school. The school had a policy of splitting up siblings, saying it gave them more independence. They almost made an exception, because Kenzie was blind, but Mommy and Daddy were vehement about no one treating Kenzie different.

So she stood outside the door to her new room alone, fingers tracing the number plate. 112. She smiled, ready to start her new life in a new place.

New friends, new adventure. Leave the past behind, forget about the demon, the pain.

(A lonely little girl, marked by the same demon, sat alone on the other side of the door.)


End file.
